Lingual archwire forming appliance

ABSTRACT

A lingual archwire forming appliance for adapting a wire to the lingual surfaces of a patient&#39;s teeth during the construction of a bonded lingual archwire retainer. The appliance is composed of a handle attached to an arch-formed wire. The combination of the handle and curved archwire are useful in fitting a bonded lingual archwire directly in a patient&#39;s mouth.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a fixed orthodontic wire retainer for maintaining the alignment of the teeth following orthodontic treatment. The appliance is used to form or adapt the wire to fit the teeth during the construction of the retainer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Fixed orthodontic retainers have been used in orthodontics since the early part of the 20th century. To clarify the description of the invention certain dental term should be understood. Upper and lower teeth are termed maxillary and mandibular teeth, respectively. Front teeth are anterior teeth and back teeth are posterior teeth. Anterior teeth are incisors and are named centrals, laterals, and cuspids in order from midline to posterior. Posterior teeth from anterior to posterior are first and second bicuspids and first, second, and third molars. Individual teeth are described according to their surfaces. The distal surface is towards the back of the mouth and the mesial surface is towards the front of the mouth. The lingual or palatal surface is on the tongue side of the teeth. The labial or buccal surface is on the cheek or lip side of the teeth. The occlusal surface of a tooth is its chewing surface.

[0003] The orthodontic procedure for maintaining the teeth straight following orthodontic treatment involves a wire bonded to the inner surface of the front teeth, most commonly the lower anterior teeth. The general shape of the wire is that of an arch, but each mouth is different in size, shape, and form of the arch, requiring the preformed wire to be adapted to the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth. The adaptation process intraorally is difficult; therefore, soft wires have been used which have made the adapting of the wire to the teeth easier, but the soft wire is easily deformed when worn by the patient. Another approach is to fit the wire to a mold of the patient's teeth. The mold method is time consuming as it requires a mold made from an impression of the patient's teeth, the wire fitted to the mold, and an additional visit for the patient to receive the lingual retainer. The fitting of the archwire in a patient's mouth has been difficult because each time the archwire was placed in the mouth the plane of the archwire, in relation to the teeth, would be slightly different, which makes adapting of the wire to the the lingual surfaces of the teeth slow and difficult. The fitting process required the archwire to be repeatedly placed in the mouth as it was adjusted. The archwire could not be repeatedly placed in the same position in relation to the teeth, making the adapting bends difficult and slow. The premade lingual archwires have usually included orthodontic mesh pads for bonding to the lingual surfaces of the teeth, usually the cuspids. The mesh pads are integral with the archwire, requiring a variety of lengths of premade arch wires. One variation of the mesh pads was a universal size where one of the mesh pads was adjustably positioned. The mesh pads increased the difficulty of fitting the archwire to the teeth because the pads must be fitted to the lingual surfaces of the teeth in another dimension which was vertical to the horizontal plane of the arcuate archwire.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention is directed to a retainer archwire forming apparatus for adapting an archwire to the inner surfaces of the teeth. The archwire, when bonded to the patient's teeth, becomes a fixed lingual retainer which maintains teeth alignment following orthodontic treatment. The archwire forming apparatus consists of an arcuate wire portion connected to a handle portion. The arcuate wire portion is formed in the shape of an arch on a single plane, that plane being parallel to the occlusal plane of the teeth When the arcuate wire is placed in the mouth during the fitting process. The handle portion is connected to the end of the arcuate wire which corresponds with the left side of the mouth when the arcuate wire is placed in the mouth. The axis of the handle is parallel to the plane of the arcuate wire and extends away from the mouth at a 90 degree angle to the point of attachment to the arcuate wire. The handle at its point of attachment to the arcuate wire has a bayonet bend. The bayonet bend extends towards the occlusal plane of the teeth four to six millimeters, allowing the body of the handle to clear the teeth during the fitting process of the arcuate wire portion.

[0005] The handle portion of the archwire forming apparatus must have sufficient length to be hand held. The outer portion, or left end, of the handle has a flat area to enhance the grip of the wire. The flat area is parallel to the plane of the arcuate wire and is formed by placing two successive bends in the wire at the outer end of the handle away from the mouth. The bends are done at an 8 mm interval. The exact dimension or shape of the flat area is not critical, but the dimension must be large enough for the apparatus to the hand held in a stable manner during the fitting process. The flat area would also be useful if it were vertical to the horizontal plane of the arcuate wire. The object of the invention is the ability to repeatedly place the arcuate wire into the mouth in the same relative position to the patient's anterior teeth.

[0006] The handle portion allows the lingual archwire appliance to be firmly held, allowing the arcuate wire to be repeatedly positioned in the mouth in an identical manner. The ability to accurately reposition the arcuate wire allows its adaptation to the teeth to be done easily with accuracy and efficiency.

[0007] In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the handle portion and can also be comprised of different materials, such as polypropylene or plastics, attached to the arcuate wire adhesively or mechanically.

[0008] In another embodiment of the present invention the handle can be attached to the arcuate wire includes orthodontic bonding pads for adhering the wire to the patient's teeth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a top view of the lingual archwire forming appliance;

[0010]FIG. 2 is a prospective view of the lingual archwire forming appliance,

[0011]FIG. 3 is a horizontal view of the lingual archwire forming apparatus;

[0012]FIG. 4 is a top view of another embodiment of the lingual archwire forming apparatus;

[0013]FIG. 5 is a horizontal view of the lingual archwire forming apparatus of FIG. 4;

[0014]FIG. 6 is a horizontal view of the archwire forming apparatus placed lingual to the lower anterior teeth.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Referring to FIGS. 1-6, the orthodontic archwire forming apparatus has an arcuate wire 1 formed on a plane FIG. 3. The arcuate wire is used to form the lingual archwire retainer FIG. 6. Attached to an end of the arcuate wire 3 is the wire handle 6 extending outwardly from wire, the handle axis is 90 degrees to the arcuate wire at the point of attachment 3 and in the same plane as the planar dimension of the arcuate wire. The length of the handle must be sufficient for the handle 6 to be hand held. At the outward end of the handle is a horizontal flat area created by bending the wire 7 and 9. The flat area 8 provides stability when the handle is hand held. The ability to hand hold the handle 15 in a stable manner is the important feature of the invention. The arcuate wire can be easily repeatably placed in the patient's mouth lingual to the anterior teeth FIG. 6 in the same plane as the occlusal plane. Adjusting the arcuate wire to fit the patient's teeth requires the arcuate wire to be repeatedly placed in the patient's mouth. The attached handle FIGS. 1-6 makes it possible to repeatedly return the arcuate wire to the mouth in the same relative position to the patient's teeth. The curvature of the arcuate wire should be slightly greater than the lingual anterior tooth curvature 33. During the adaptation of the arcuate wire to the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth it is easier to decrease the curvature of a wire than increase the curvature of the wire. The handle, at its attachment to the arcuate wire, extends occlusally 4-5 mm. in order for the handle to clear the teeth when placed in the mouth as in FIG. 6.

[0016] In the preferred embodiment the handle and arcuate wire portion are comprised of a continuous wire. The preferred embodiment is 0.028 inch stainless steel wire. The archwire former can be used on models of teeth or in the mouth to form the lingual archwire retainer. The wire can be 0.020 inch diameter to 0.080 inch in diameter. The lingual archwire forming apparatus allows the lingual archwire to be easily formed in the mouth because the handle allows the arcuate wire to be repeatedly repositioned in the mouth and the same plane and relative position to the patient's teeth.

[0017] The process of forming the lingual retainer involves the steps of gripping the handle of the apparatus, placing the arcuate portion in the patients mouth adjacent to the lingual of the anterior teeth parallel to the occlusal plane, cutting the approximate length, adjusting the curvature to fit the teeth, and adjusting the wire to fit teeth by repeated adjustments after repeatedly placing the arcuate wire in the mouth FIG. 6 in the same relative position. Most importantly, the planar dimension of the arcuate wire must be repeatably parallel to the occlusal plane. The arcuate wire is attached to selected teeth by holding the wire in position and adhesively bonding the arcuate wire to the teeth.

[0018] In another embodiment of the present invention the arcuate wire has mesh orthodontic pads 24 attached to it as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The handle can be attached to the pad or wire, most commonly corresponding to the left side of the patient's mouth, by being continuous with, soldered to, electrowelded to, or adhesively attached to the arcuate wire.

[0019] In another embodiment of the orthodontic archwire forming appliance the handle can be a nonmetallic material such as plastic or polypropylene having sufficient rigidity to support the arcuate wire portion during the fitting process to the teeth. The handle can be attached to the arcuate wire portion adhesively and/or mechanically.

[0020] The handle can also be used to help adapt removable lingual or palatal arch wires directly in the patient's mouth on a model of the patient's teeth.

[0021] In another embodiment of the invention the handle can be attached to a labial wire used in the construction of removable retainers, such as Hawley retainers.

[0022] The invention has been described with specific embodiments, however, the intent of the invention is to provide an archwire forming appliance which makes it possible to form a retainer archwire directly in the patient's mouth. The difficulty of forming a lingual archwire retainer in the past has frequently required the use of a study model of the patient's teeth upon which to adapt the wire, which required an impression of the patient's teeth and a subsequent visit to deliver the lingual retainer. The invention makes it possible to both form the lingual archwire quickly and accurately within the mouth and do at a single patient visit. 

What is claimed:
 1. An archwire forming appliance for making an orthodontic lingual archwire retainer comprising an arcuate planer archwire having left and right ends; a longitudinal handle attached to the arcuate planar wire, the handle having a longitudinal body spine with opposing left and right longitudinal ends and a longitudinal axis, the appliance to be handheld and repositioned in the mouth repeatedly in the similar position during the adaptation of the arcuate wire to the lingual surfaces of the patient's teeth.
 2. An archwire forming appliance as a claim 1 wherein the arcuate wire is sufficient in length to extend on the lingual surfaces of the anterior six incisors and the first bicuspids.
 3. An archwire forming appliance as in claim 1 wherein the arcuate wire has left and right ends which correspond with the left and right sides of the patient's mouth when the arcuate wire is placed in the patient's mouth lingual to the patient's anterior teeth.
 4. An arch wire forming appliance as in claim 1 wherein the right end of the handle handle is attached to the left end of the arcuate wire allowing the arch forming appliance to be gripped by the left hand during the fitting process, leaving the right hand free to bend the arcuate wire to conform to the lingual surfaces of the patient's anterior teeth.
 5. An archwire forming appliance as in claim 1 wherein the handle attaches at a right angle to the arcuate wire and extends towards the patient's occlusal plane a sufficient distance to avoid the teeth when the handle is placed in the mouth.
 6. An archwire forming appliance as in claim 1 wherein the left end of the handle has a flat area extending at a right angle to the handle and parallel to the planar dimension of the arcuate wire, this flat area is of sufficient dimension to allow the handle to be handheld in a stable manner during the fitting of the arcuate wire in the patient's mouth.
 7. An arch wire forming appliance as in claim 1 wherein the flat handle area extends away from the longitudinal axis of the handle at a right angle to the planar dimension of the arcuate wire.
 8. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the handle portion is the same wire and integral with the arcuate wire portion.
 9. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 1 composed of nonmetallic materials such as plastics, polypropylene, or resins which are all rigid enough when attached to the arcuate wire to firmly position the arcuate planar wire during the fitting process to the teeth.
 10. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the handle portion is attached to the arcuate wire by soldering, welding, mechanically locking, or adhesively using adhesive means such as epoxy resins.
 11. An archwire forming apparatus for adaptably forming a lingual archwire comprising: an orthodontic arcuate planar archwire with two ends wherein each end has attached to it an orthodontic mesh pad positioned opposite to and parallel to the lingual surfaces of the teeth the mesh pads are to be bonded to; a handle attached to the arcuate wire or orthodontic mesh pad and extending away from the arcuate wire, allowing the arcuate wire to be repeatedly repositioned in a patient's mouth in the same relative position to the patient's anterior teeth during the adaptation process of the arcuate wire to the lingual surfaces of the patient's anterior teeth; a flat area at the end of the handle opposite the arcuate wire attachment wherein the flat area is parallel to the planar dimension of the arcuate wire, the flat area allowing the handle to be firmly held.
 12. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the arcuate wire and handle are 0.020 inch diameter to 0.080 inch diameter wire.
 13. An archwire forming apparatus as the claim 11 wherein the arcuate wire and handle are 0.028 inch diameter wire.
 14. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the handle portion is parallel to the planar dimension of the arcuate wire.
 15. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the flat area of the handle is at a right angle to the planar dimension of the arcuate wire.
 16. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the end of the handle opposite the flat area is attached to the right end of the arcuate wire, allowing a left-handed person to hold the handle with the right hand, leaving the left hand free to bend the arcuate wire.
 17. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the end of the handle opposite the flat area is attached to the arcuate wire in any position between the left and right ends of the arcuate wire.
 18. An archwire forming apparatus as in claim 11 wherein the handle is attached to an arcuate wire with loops which is repeatedly adaptively positioned to the labial surface of the anterior teeth of a model of teeth to form a labial wire for a removable retainer, such as a Hawley retainer.
 19. An archwire forming appliance used to form a bonded lingual archwire by the steps comprising: holding the archwire forming appliance by the handle; placing the arcuate portion of the appliance in the patients mouth, the arcuate curve against the lingual surfaces of the patient's anterior teeth; positioning the arcuate wire in the mouth with the planar dimension of the arcuate wire parallel to the occlusal plane of the patient's teeth; bending the arcuate wire to conform to the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth; positioning the arcuate wire repeatedly in the same position in the mouth and repeatedly bending the wire to fit the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth; cutting the right end of the arcuate archwire length to conform with the number of teeth to be retained by the lingual archwire; placing the arcuate wire against the lingual surfaces of the anterior teeth; and bonding the arcuate wire to the teeth.
 20. An archwire forming appliance as in claim 19 wherein the act of forming the arcuate wire to fit the patient's teeth is performed by fitting the arcuate wire upon a model of the patient's teeth. 